Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
With Home Deliveries Soaring, Instacart, Amazon Workers Demand Better Protections, Pay, Sick Leave
Signaling both growing anxiety and growing solidarity brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, workers in a variety of occupations across the country are protesting what they see as inadequate safety measures and insufficient pay for the risks they are confronting. On Monday, a contingent of workers who fulfill orders for the grocery delivery service Instacart stayed off the job, demanding greater pay and better access to paid leave and disinfectant. A group of workers walked off the job at an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island on Monday, and a sickout called by Whole Foods Market workers is set for Tuesday. (Scheiber and Conger, 3/30)
Sarah Polito, an organizer of the Instacart strike who said she has delivered groceries for the company for nearly two years, said she and fellow workers are asking for hazard pay of $5 per order, a default tip of 10% and sick pay. “We’re being treated as employees but not getting paid as such,” Ms. Polito said. (Kang and Herrera, 3/30)
Fifteen workers at an Amazon.com Inc warehouse in Staten Island, New York, also walked off the job on Monday following reports of COVID-19 among the facility’s staff. Amazon said later it fired an employee who helped organize the action for alleged violations of his employment, including leaving a paid quarantine to participate in the demonstration. New York’s attorney general said her office was “considering all legal options” in response to the firing, citing the right to organize in the state. (Russ, 3/30)
At Amazon, which employs some 800,000 people, workers have diagnosed positively for COVID-19 in at least 11 warehouses, forcing a prolonged closure of at least one warehouse in Kentucky. The company says it has "taken extreme measures to keep people safe," including allowing unlimited unpaid leave time for employees who feel uncomfortable working. Amazon says its decision on whether to close a w (Selyukh and Bond, 3/30)
More than 250 million Americans in 30 states have been asked or ordered to stay at home. Although some still buy essentials in person at stores, many are ordering online instead. As a result, warehouse and delivery workers and professional shoppers have become central to the current economy -- and a growing number are concerned about the risks they face by doing their jobs. (Solman, 3/30)
